Slow-cooked pork loin with caramelised pears and hazelnuts

1.Preheat oven to 250°C. Place garlic in a roasting pan with oil and milk. Season with salt and white pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or till soft. Tip cooking liquid into a bowl, then squeeze flesh out of the cloves and into the bowl. Mash with a fork and set aside.

2.Using the point of a sharp knife, cut slits, 1cm apart, in the skin-side of the pork in a criss-cross pattern. Turn pork over and gently spread garlic purée along the bottom side of the loin in a 3cm-wide strip. Season with a few pinches of sea salt and pepper, then roll loin tightly (starting from the garlicky bottom edge) and tie with butcher’s string every 2cm. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle 2-3 pinches of sea salt over skin and massage in gently.

3.Place onion rings in a roasting pan with 1 cup water. Place pork on top and roast for 35 minutes. Then turn down temperature to 160°C and cook for a further 30 minutes. Take pork from oven and pierce with a small knife – if the juice runs clear, the pork is ready. Rest the pork for at least 10 minutes.

4.While pork is cooking, heat butter in a large non-stick frying pan till sizzling. Toss in pears and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Add balsamic and cook until liquid has reduced by half. Add wine and stir well. Add silverbeet and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat, fold in hazelnuts and season to taste.

5.To serve, remove string from pork and cut into 1cm slices. Serve with pears and drizzle over pan juices. Try this with the spinach dumplings (see recipe) as they are a great match.